ST. LOUIS -- Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak -- a veteran team-builder who has regularly used the offseason to add difference-making talents such as Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray to try and chase a championship -- oddly saw this winter slow to a crawl.

However, it¡¯s not because of a lack of effort.

Mozeliak candidly admitted on Saturday during the first day of the organization¡¯s Winter Warm-Up festivities that many of the Cardinals' plans to upgrade the roster have been held up by their inability to trade the 10-time Gold Glove-winning third baseman. Arenado, who has three years and $74 million remaining on his contract, flexed his no-trade clause to nix a potential deal to the Astros in mid-December, and the two sides have still been unable to negotiate a deal that satisfies all parties. Until that happens, Mozeliak said, the franchise and its plans of a ¡°reset¡± for 2025 are in something of a holding pattern.

¡°Well, I¡¯m hopeful,¡± Mozeliak said of an Arenado trade that the club hopes will improve its financial standing while also opening up playing time for younger players. ¡°When you say ¡®confident¡¯ or ¡®putting odds on it,¡¯ I think it¡¯s still a flip of a coin. I know that it¡¯s a top priority for the organization and myself. So, I¡¯ll be laser focused on that until it¡¯s not.

¡°I think priority one, two and three is still [trading] Nolan.¡±

Long a franchise that expected to compete for championships and one that never seriously considered rebuilding because of the demands from a rabid fan base, the Cardinals made the bold decision following an 83-79 season to shift their focus for 2025. With revenues expected to fall from a smaller television rights package and a potential plunge in attendance, the Cards worked to lower payroll by not picking up options for veteran pitchers Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson, letting Goldschmidt leave in free agency and seeking trades with their veteran holdovers.

Gray and catcher-turned-first baseman Contreras -- both of whom have no-trade clauses -- wanted to stay, while Arenado expressed an interest in playing elsewhere. Arenado, 33, is coming off two seasons where his power numbers have seriously declined, something that has made trading him more difficult.

Mozeliak left open the possibility of Arenado being in Jupiter, Fla., when the Cardinals' full squad reports for Spring Training on Feb. 17. However the team hope to avoid that scenario because of how it would hinder rebuilding plans.

¡°It is the linchpin, but there is nothing that I can do to move it faster,¡± Mozeliak said. ¡°We are in a holding pattern, and all I ask is for a little patience on this, because regardless of what I want to do or the team wants to do, that¡¯s not how this works.¡±

Gray, who signed a three-year, $75 million free-agent deal with the Cardinals in November 2023, was somewhat shocked that a perennial contender such as St. Louis would shift to rebuild mode. Given the chance to be traded elsewhere, Gray insisted he wanted to remain a Cardinal so that he could continue building relationships with teammates and management.

Plus, Gray thinks the Cardinals can still surprise the baseball world with their play in 2025.

¡°I¡¯m not sold that we can¡¯t win here,¡± said Gray, who went 13-9 with a 3.84 ERA and 203 strikeouts in 166 1/3 innings in his first season with the Cards. ¡°If you look at the talent, especially on the position player side, those guys have to take it over. You know, it turns into their clubhouse. Now it¡¯s their team. We as older guys, I think it¡¯s our job to lead them and mentor them, but also let them spread their wings and let them fly.¡±

Brendan Donovan -- who is a part of a young core that includes Masyn Winn, Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, Lars Nootbaar, Alec Burleson, Andre Pallante and others -- said it meant a lot to the Cardinals to have Gray and Contreras recommit to the franchise. The mix of youth and season veterans could lead to surprising success.

¡°The notion that we¡¯re cutting payroll or we¡¯re not going to win, I don¡¯t see that at all,¡± Donovan said. ¡°I see this as an opportunity to shock a lot of people. When you look around, on paper it¡¯s a good-looking roster in my opinion. I think this team is going to shock a lot of people.¡±

Any additions to that roster likely won¡¯t come until after the Cards deal Arenado, though.

¡°For now, I¡¯d like to say it¡¯s business as usual, but it¡¯s not because it¡¯s very different,¡± Mozeliak admitted. ¡°But we¡¯ll continue to try to find a place that he is happy with being.¡±